Alice felt chills run down her spine.

Although she had only encountered him as Allen, the other person was a mercenary. He could have immediately noticed the similarities and questioned her identity. She quickly lowered her arm and turned around, but Eddie promptly approached Alice’s side.

“This seems to be a new face around here. Who might you be?”

Eddie’s face filled Alice’s field of vision. Upon closer inspection, his features weren’t as sharp as she had thought. Rather, he looked so gentle he couldn’t hurt a fly.

Judging by his puzzled expression, it didn’t seem like he had immediately discovered her identity. Alice maintained her tension and averted her gaze.

“Oh, hello… I’m a new maid who just entered the Empress’s palace.”

“But you look familiar somehow. Have we met before?”

“No way! I’m really seeing you for the first time! Hahaha…”

Forcing a laugh made her face twitch. Eddie seemed to have dismissed his suspicions and immediately greeted her with a goofy smile.

“I’m Eddie from the Likas Mercenary Group. We’re currently under contract with the Imperial family and staying here.”

“Ah, the Likas Mercenary Group! I’ve heard of you. The ones who took down those rowdy nobles at the Clover Tavern!”

“We’re quite famous, aren’t we? Oh my, our faces are already well-known.”

Eddie waved his hand, feigning embarrassment and even blushing. For a mercenary, he seemed quite laid-back, which was a great relief.

Alice seized the opportunity to praise him.

“O-Of course! You’re incredibly famous! There was a time when everyone was talking about it, haha!”

“Seeing that you’ve come this far, it seems you might be lost.”

“Ah… do you know the way to the Empress’s palace?”

“Walk to where you can see that statue over there, then turn left. You should find a familiar path.”

“Thank you! Whew, it’s been quite an eventful first day, getting lost and all.”

Alice bowed and hurried away. If she stayed here any longer, smiling at Eddie, her cheeks would start to cramp.

As she walked quickly, she glanced back and saw Eddie waving at her.

“I’m sorry… but let’s not run into each other for a while.”

She muttered softly. If it were discovered that she had been wandering the streets disguised as a man, she might be expelled for tarnishing the honor of the Empress’s palace.

Still, it was fortunate she wasn’t immediately recognized. Alice thought she should refrain from taking walks for a while as she quickened her pace.

As Alice disappeared into the distance, Eddie’s smiling eyes suddenly narrowed.

“It’s him. Allen.”

The sharpness characteristic of a mercenary gleamed in the shadow of his bangs. No matter how he dressed in a gown and let his hair down, he couldn’t escape Eddie’s keen eye.

“I wonder which is the real appearance.”

A suspicious man entering and leaving the Empress’s palace. Or perhaps a woman who wandered around dressed as a man. It might be better to discreetly inform the captain who had access to the Empress’s palace.

“If I’m not careful, both of us could be in danger… I should let him know.”

It was always better to have more suspicions. One must sharpen their senses and grasp the other person’s intentions. Constantly thinking about why that person is being kind to me, or why that person is behaving in such a way, is the only way to survive.

A life where one must misinterpret people’s goodwill always felt rough. When would he be able to accept the warmth and kindness offered by people without suspicion? A light sigh lingered on Eddie’s lips.

“Captain. Do you have a moment? I have something to report.”

“Speak.”

After the evening training, Eddie cautiously approached Lebel and spoke. Lebel nodded towards Eddie as he picked up a broken wooden sword after the training.

“It’s about our first mission in the capital. Do you remember the man who helped us when the commotion broke out at the tavern? The one who testified to the patrol officers. He was thin, with brown hair and green eyes.”

Lebel stopped moving and fell into deep thought.

“Ah, that dish boy.”

“So that’s how you remembered him… Anyway, that’s right. But I saw him in the palace. And as a woman, no less.”

“…Is that so.”

Surprisingly, Lebel didn’t seem very shocked. Was he thinking, ‘That could happen’? Eddie scratched his head and continued.

“I’m not sure which is the real appearance. Whether it’s originally a woman who goes around dressed as a man, or a man who’s dressed as a woman. They said they entered as a maid in the Empress’s palace, so I’m a bit concerned. If it’s the latter, it could be a big problem.”

The wooden swords he had painstakingly gathered from the floor clattered down again. Eddie’s hand, which had been needlessly troubling his hair, suddenly stopped.

“As a maid in the Empress’s palace… Who?”

This was the first time Eddie had seen Lebel so seriously shaken since entering the palace.

**

By now, Lebel’s visits to the Empress’s palace had become routine. The maids would even glance out the window around this time, thinking, ‘He should be coming by now.’

But today’s visit came earlier than usual. And Lebel somehow seemed urgent. Seeing his uncharacteristically tense appearance, Ilarid spoke first.

“Is it urgent, Lebel?”

“Your Majesty the Empress. Is there a new maid who has recently entered?”

“Ah, Alice le Diobe has newly joined. Although she’s family of the Empress Consort, her abilities were recognized…”

“How much do you know?”

Lebel strode up to where Ilarid was sitting. Lynette, who was nearby, didn’t even have time to intervene.

“She might be a man.”

What a bolt from the blue. The Empress and the head maid wondered if they should unconditionally believe this baseless statement.

Ilarid first pulled Lebel to sit down. Then she calmly opened her mouth.

“…Tell me in detail. Alice said she would be coming shortly.”

Alice clenched and unclenched her cold hands several times. Even when she first met the Empress, she hadn’t been this nervous.

But as the moment approached to show the red book she was holding, her body stiffened and her hands froze.

The sun had already set, and the corridor was shrouded in darkness. Alice repeated what she wanted to say in her mind over and over again.

Her stiff footsteps finally reached the front of the lounge. It’ll be fine. It will be. Alice took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

‘That person…’

A man was leaning against the darkness of the lounge, looking towards the door. It was a figure Alice knew well.

‘It’s the mercenary captain I met at the tavern.’

He was no ordinary person. His eyes were like those of a predator that had cornered its prey and was about to bite its vital point.

Could it be that I’ve been found out? Alice recalled Eddie, whom she had encountered in the afternoon. That bastard, could it be that he noticed but just pretended not to?

But now, more than feeling betrayed, she needed to find a way out of this situation. As Alice was chewing the inside of her lip, Ilarid spoke first.

“Miss Alice. You said you had something to tell me, but something has come up that I need to hear first. I would like you to answer honestly.”

“Yes, Your Majesty the Empress.”

“Have you… ever gone out dressed as a man?”

The moment had come. Alice quietly approached Ilarid. The head maid and the mercenary captain watched her every move closely. Indeed, which would be the truth?

“I apologize, Your Majesty the Empress.”

She quietly knelt down. The tense breathing of those in front of her was palpable.

“The truth is, I have gone out dressed as a man outside the palace. If this has tarnished the reputation of the Empress’s palace, I will prepare to leave immediately. But before that… please read this.”

Alice, still kneeling, pushed the book she had been holding towards where Ilarid was sitting. As she bowed her head, she sensed someone approaching and picking up the book.

“I saw the schedule that you will be inspecting the Academy in a few days. Inside… are all the corruptions and discriminations occurring within the Academy.”

Being flat on the ground, only the pattern of the carpet was visible. The only sound was the gentle turning of pages from the front, while everything else was quiet. Alice continued speaking in an urgent voice.

“I dare to inform Your Majesty the Empress. Please listen to their voices, their cries. This is evidence of those who wandered everywhere because no one would listen.”

This might be the last thing she says. If she gets kicked out, so be it. If it’s wrong to have cut her hair short like a man and strut around the streets wearing pants, she should rightfully be punished.

She had made such a fuss to her father, and now she looked foolish. What would she do for a living if she had to leave?

Still, since the throat is a prison, she’d do whatever it takes to survive. Hadn’t she supported her father and younger sibling before, and even paid the employees’ wages on time? That should be enough to live alone.

Ilarid’s face, which had been turning the pages, gradually flushed. The paper began to tremble slightly along with her fingers.

All the requests she had subtly made to the professors from local noble backgrounds had fallen into her hands.

As soon as she heard rumors about the Academy from Lynette, she immediately searched for the list of professors. Among them, she contacted the local nobles who were favorable to the Melpiram count family.

To bring the Academy’s corruption to the surface and to burst it in time for the inspection schedule.

But she didn’t have high hopes. If things went wrong, not only would they lose their professor positions, but their future paths would not be smooth.

Who would want to hire someone who had blown the whistle from the inside? Society doesn’t protect such people, but ostracizes them. They are not seen as honest and righteous individuals, but as troublemakers who lack tact and only create problems.

She thought they wouldn’t step forward. No matter how long she waited, all the press remained quiet, and there was no contact from the nobles she had somewhat trusted.

Even if evidence was gathered, she assumed it wouldn’t reach Ilarid’s hands. She had given up, thinking this matter was too much.

‘I thought it would be fortunate if there were just some issues raised on the day of the Academy inspection…’

Her heartbeat, which had always felt faint, now pounded strongly from within.

“Thank you, Alice.”

At the Empress’s trembling voice, Alice lifted her head without permission.

Ilarid rose from her chair and embraced Alice, who was kneeling on the floor. In one hand, she tightly held the evidence Alice had given her.

“How did you manage all this…”

“One of the Academy students went around to newspaper companies, risking everything. But it wasn’t easy to turn into articles, and there were various circumstances…”

She found herself patting Ilarid’s back without realizing it. Is it okay to do this to Her Majesty the Empress? She glanced at the head maid, but Lynette was more interested in the book Ilarid was holding and grumbled.

“That’s to be expected. Most of them are in a position where they have to be mindful of the Imperial family. And the Academy is overflowing with noble-born students who side with the Emperor.”

Alice’s cross-dressing had long been forgotten. It had become nothing compared to all the injustices occurring in the Academy.

The Imperial Academy, established to nurture the talents of the empire. But the practice of treating only the children of prestigious noble families as students still persisted. The quiet cries of those who couldn’t bear it resonated from within the book.

Ilarid sat face to face with Alice and held her hands. By now, Ilarid’s hands had warmed up.

“Miss Alice. Tomorrow, please meet the person who gathered this information and deliver this message. The Emperor will also be joining the inspection.”

Everyone gathered in the lounge held their breath. Who would have thought that the matter she said she would reconsider would be so helpful? Ilarid continued speaking, breaking through the tension.

“If we go on the inspection with His Majesty the Emperor, more reporters will gather. And people’s attention will be focused. I plan to leak this information to the reporters who have access to the Imperial family as well.”

Alice guessed what the Empress was trying to say. And she nodded with a determined look.

“I understand, Your Majesty the Empress.”

“If there’s one request… please ask them to refrain from any extreme actions that risk their lives.”

She didn’t want to see it anymore. The single wound on the neck was enough.

She was sick of seeing people who chose the right path crumble helplessly in frustration. To ensure they are not ignored or discriminated against, she would certainly, with all her might, protect them.